How to Troubleshoot a Truck Remote Starter
If your truck's remote starter is experiencing problems, there are a variety of ways to check some of the different components of the remote starter system. Knowing a little about basic electronics and how to troubleshoot circuits will come in handy, along with a basic familiarity with your particular remote starter system. Knowing a few tips and tricks can potentially save you the frustation of spending more time and money having a professional do some of the same work that you can do yourself.
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Instructions
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Replace the batteries in your remote starter's keyless unit. Some units will have a red LED that indicates that the batteries are working whenever a button is pushed, while other units may have a low battery signal indicating by a blinking red light. Replacing the batteries helps to make sure that the electronic signal is being sent from your keyless unit to your receiver placed within your truck.
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Remove any obstacles that are in the direct pathway between you and your truck. Sometimes, if an object is between you and your truck, the signal from your keyless unit will not be able to reach the receiver unit in your truck.
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Insert your key into the truck's ignition if the remote starter is not starting up your truck. With the key in the ignition, push the button on your remote starter to see if the truck starts up. If it does, then your truck is using a security feature that has a microchip installed in your ignition key, that only starts the truck with the key present in the ignition. This security feature prevents thieves from stealing your truck by hot-wiring it or replacing the ignition switch. This security feature is present in many vehicle models since 2000, which some vehicles during the late 90's also implementing this measure. Use a vehicle wiring diagram to cut the wire leading to the sensor for the microchip and solder a bypass so that the remote starter can function properly.
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Push the button on the remote starter that would ordinarily start your truck and observe your tail-lights. Many remote starter units have a troubleshoot feature that uses a series of long and short blinks to indicate a specific problem with the remote starter's computer system. This can be used to indicate improperly connected or loose wiring, shorts or malfunctioned components. Use the owner's manual for the remote starter to look up the code indicated by the blinking tail-lights.
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Use a multi-meter to check the connections, joins and solders used for connecting the remote starter receiver unit, placed underneath the dashboard of the truck. Set the multi-meter to check for infinite resistance and touch the two probes to each solder or join. If any of the joins indicate infinite resistance, then the wiring has been damaged or it was done incorrectly. Rejoin or solder the wires and check it again with the multimeter.
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